Eugene's Choice
by true girlie girl
Summary: The original ending to Tangled is still the best, but here is an alternative ending to satisfy my 4-year-old.


_To cut, or not to cut, that is the question._

Disclaimer: Tangled is property of Disney. I do not work for Disney.

* * *

"No, Rapunzel," Eugene said as he pushed her hair away.

"I promise, you have to trust me."

"No, I can't let you do this."

"And I can't let you die."

"But, if you do this, then you will die."

"Hey, it's gonna be alright," she whispered reassuringly.

Rapunzel was just about to start singing the healing song as she knelt beside Eugene who was dying from the stab wound.

"Rapunzel, wait..." Eugene said as he was leaning towards her.

Rapunzel paused her song and started to mimic his movement, moving closer to him, wanting to put her lips to his. As much as Eugene longed to kiss her just once, he decided it wasn't meant to be. He already had the sharp shard of mirror glass ready in his hand.

As Rapunzel's lips were about to touch his, he raised his hand holding the glass and pointed it towards her. "Rapunzel, get away from me," he said in a flat, cold voice, putting all his remaining strength into his words.

"Eugene..." Rapunzel whispered in stunned disbelief. She wasn't immediately moving, still in shock.

Eugene grasped her hair and put the sharp edge of the glass to it. "Don't try to sing for me again. If you don't move away right now, I'll cut off all the hair," he warned as his voice was falling to a whisper, but his tone was still very serious.

Rapunzel stared at him with wide eyes.

"Run away," he coughed out with every bit of strength he had left. "Now!"

By then, Mother Gothel had caught on to what was happening. Gothel started panicking by the sight of the glass and ran towards Rapunzel. Rapunzel had no time to do anything more except run for the window as Gothel tried to grab her. Pascal intervened, slowing Gothel's attempt to reach Rapunzel, by tripping the raging woman over the hair. Rapunzel looped her hair around the hook, above the tower's main window, and was able to jump out of the tower.

When Rapunzel reached the ground at the base of the tower, she hesitated to run. She didn't want to go too far from the tower— she couldn't leave Eugene. Rapunzel only thought about how to get back to the top, to where he lay on the floor, so that she could heal him.

As soon as Gothel was able to get back on her feet, she ran towards the stairs to follow Rapunzel. Gothel made her way down and immediately spotted Rapunzel as she came out the tower door. Rapunzel was forced to run again. The chase led them farther and farther away from the tower. They were nearing the cliff edges. Rapunzel was still thinking about Eugene and was very worried that he was running out of time. She stopped running and turned to Mother Gothel.

"I don't want to fight you," Rapunzel called out to her. "Mother, I forgive you. You can come with me to the castle. You can live there with me— we can still be together."

"Are you thinking straight, Rapunzel? They would never accept me there," Gothel shouted back.

"I will convince the King and Queen— I'm sure I can convince them to let you stay there. They will listen to me."

Gothel didn't trust that she could ever fit in with royalty. She was still desperate to keep Rapunzel. She lunged at Rapunzel, trying to grab her again. Rapunzel felt herself slipping off the cliff edge and instinctively threw her hair to catch it on a tree branch which was protruding from the cliffside nearby. In that moment, Gothel lost her balance while trying to grab Rapunzel and fell down the very long cliffside into the sea below.

Rapunzel felt a shock go through her as she watched Gothel, the only mother she's ever known, fall to her death; however, she didn't have time to dwell on it. She had to run back to the tower to where Eugene was left alone, dying on the floor. Rapunzel was terrified that he might already be gone.

Rapunzel ran up the stairs of the tower as fast as she could. She found Eugene, unresponsive.

"No no no no, Eugene," she spoke out loud, trying to shake him awake. There was no answer, and he wasn't opening his eyes.

Rapunzel wrapped him in her hair and started to sing: "flower, gleam and glow, let your power shine..." Her long hair lit up, a bright yellow, as the magic traveled along its length.

Rapunzel sang the entire song quickly in a panicked voice. She was feeling nervous as nothing started happening immediately. Just as she was losing hope and began tearing up, the magic started to work. It wasn't too late!

"Eugene?"

"Rapunzel?" he answered as he started to wake up, feeling confused but realizing they were alone as he looked around the room.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel threw her arms around him and they toppled over as they tightly hugged each other.

They sat up again and looked at each other with beaming smiles on their faces. Rapunzel pulled him in and kissed him solidly on the lips, taking him by surprise, sending his eyes wide open.

After a long moment, Rapunzel finally pulled herself away. "Eugene, you scared me. I'm very mad at you," she said giving him a stern look.

Eugene put on his best cute face. "I think I can be forgiven," he said.

Rapunzel giggled knowing very well that she already had.

Rapunzel's eyes glittered as she watched Eugene. She couldn't take her eyes off him, intrigued by his every move. She studied him curiously as he effortlessly unclipped the shackle from his wrist, perplexed by how he did it. He tossed the chains aside and pushed himself off the ground to a stand.

A few moments later, Eugene's tone changed to a more serious side. "Where's your mother?" he asked.

"She's gone," Rapunzel answered.

"I'm sorry."

"Things were probably meant to be this way," she said.

After a brief silence, Eugene glanced at the sewing table nearby. He took a pair of scissors off the table and looked to Rapunzel.

"You know, you can free yourself from the burden," he said as he handed her the scissors. "Just cut it all off and you're free. No one will ever try to trap you again."

"Not yet," Rapunzel replied, and she handed the scissors back to him.

Rapunzel started looking towards the exit. "Should we take the stairs or the window?" she asked, thinking out loud, trying to decide.

Eugene, lost in thought, hadn't moved from his position.

"Are you coming with me or not?" Rapunzel asked.

Eugene snapped out of his dazed expression and looked her straight in the eye. "Are you sure you want to get tangled up with me forever?"

"Eugene, you are my new dream."

His eyes lit up. "And you are mine—" he mirrored back.

He had his gaze fixated on her, distracted by his thoughts.

"But..." he finally said, "I do have a thing for brunettes." He flashed Rapunzel a smile while holding up the scissors again.

"No," Rapunzel answered firmly. "I'm not cutting my hair— and I trust that you won't cut it either."

"Didn't I tell you, it's a horrible decision to trust me?"

"I trust you," Rapunzel answered confidently.

Eugene was still twirling the scissors around, showing off. Rapunzel folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, looking unimpressed.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to pressure you," he said. "Whenever you're ready."

"I'm not ready yet, so put the scissors away," Rapunzel told him.

Eugene respected her request and put the scissors back on the table, but he continued to throw out suggestive hints as he started walking towards her.

"The hair will never stop growing— it will only get heavier and heavier..." he said, still trying to persuade her.

"You look like you have strong arms," Rapunzel replied with a devious smile. "I need someone to carry the hair for me."

Eugene couldn't help smile, but he knew very well that she would have her way with him.

"And when the weight will become impossible to carry, we will have to move back into this tower, and my new job will be to fetch your paints," he replied, intending to make a joke.

Rapunzel stopped to think for a moment. "The castle will have lots of space for the hair," she said.

"What are you talking about?" Eugene asked, looking confused.

"Promise you won't freak out?"

"No, I can't promise that."

"Well, I'll tell you anyway. I'm the lost princess."

"Aaaaahhhhhhhh! $#&%!..." His voice echoed throughout the entire kingdom—

And they lived happily ever after, forever — literally.

* * *

 _Inspired by things my 4-year-old says:_

 _"Flynn lied! He said he wouldn't cut the hair. That wasn't very nice."_

 _. . . . ._

 _Thank you for reading!_

 _All reviews are very much appreciated!_


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